Safety ski binder



July 13, 1965 Filed May 27, 1963 J. J. A. BEYL SAFETY SKI BINDER 5 Sheets-Sheet 1' l NVENTOR.

JEAN JOSEPH ALFRED BEYL Bwmm+ E W July 13, 1965 J. J. A. BEYL 3,194,574

SAFETY SKI BINDER INVENTOR.

JEAN JOSEPH ALFRED BEYL July 13, 1965 J. J. A.- BEYL SAFETY SKI BINDER 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 2'7, 1965 INVENTOR.

JEAN JOSEPH ALFRED BEYL BY United States Patent 6 Claims. of ass-11.35

This invention relates in general to safety ski binders, notably for holding against motion the toe end of a ski boot having its heel portion retained on the ski by any other suitable means.

It is known that many different designs of safety binders of this character have already been proposed. As a rule, they consist of an abutment member pivotally mounted on the ski abouta vertical pivot pin disposed ahead of the boot sole location, the rear face of said abutment member comprising means for retaining the .toe end of the boot sole.

These rotary abutment members are held in their normal operative position by some elastic locking means permitting their rotation and therefore the release of the toe end of the boot when an abnormally high torsion stress is exerted on the skier s leg and foot.

However, hitherto known safety binders of this general type suffer from several draw-backs. In fact, if the means for retaining or urging the boot sole against the abutment member consists of a projection or shoulder formed directly thereon, this projection or shoulder must be of reduced width to avoid any risk of wedging the device during the relative rotation of the boot and abutment member. Under these conditions, the boot is obviously not properly held in the transverse direction.

To avoid this drawback it has already been proposed to retain the toe end of the ski boot by means of a lug or jaw pivotally mounted in turn on the main body of the rotary abutment member. This arrangement however is objected to in that it requires the use of two pivots. Moreover, the lug or jaw proper must also be of reduced width to avoid any risk of wedging the parts during the rotational movement of the abutment member.

Nevertheless, to ensure a proper holding of the .boot against motion in the transverse direction, ribs were added on the retaining lug or jaw, but these ribs Were objectionable in that they damaged the boot leather. Moreover, these ribs cannot be fully efficient unless the boot is constantly urged thereagainst. Now certain known binders for preventing the movement of the heel portion of the boot do not provide a sufiicient forward thrust of the boot to this end.

Thus, in most known types of front abutment devices of ski boot hinders the boot is not safely held against transverse motion for the boot cannot be gripped by its side edges, since this would lock the boot during the rotation of the abutment member and prevent the automatic release of the ski boot in case of emergency.

In view of the foregoing it is the essential object of this invention to provide a rotary abutment member for safely holding the toe end of a ski boot against transverse motion without interfering with the respective movements of rotation of the abutment member and of the boot in case of abnormally high stress. On the other hand, this invention also aims at facilitating the fitting of the ski boot in its safety binder.

To this end, this invention provides a safety ski binder adapted to hold the toe end of a ski boot against motion, this device consisting of an abutment member rotatably mounted on the ski and constantly urged to its normal operative position by resilient holding means, said abutment member comprising at its rear end means adapted to be engaged by the toe end of the boot and to hold 3&94574 same against forward motion and side motion, said safety ski binder being characterized in that these means comprise on the one hand a bearing face formed at the rear of said abutment member for engagement .by the toe end of the boot sole, and on the other hand two lateral arms extending obliquely, laterally and rearwardly, on either side of the toe end of the ski boot and at such a level that they overlie the sole and that their rear ends can only engage, in the lateral direction, the boot upper, the length of said side arms being such that their rear ends are adapted to engage the side faces of the boot upper above the sole at two points located in regions whereat the side portions of the boot upper merge into the rounded toe end thereof.

Thus the boot is retained at three points by this device, namely at the front end by the bearing face of said abutment member and on both sides by said lateral arms. The boot is thus safely held in the lateral direction due to the provision of these lateral arms. During a rotational movement of said abutment member as a consequence of an abnormally high torsion stress, the toe end of the boot remains pressed against the bearing face of the abutment member and cannot move forwards; therefore, it just slides on this hearing face while the free ends of the lateral arms move in contact with the sides of the boot upper. Therefore, the operation of the safety binder cannot be impaired by the presence of these lateral arms.

According to another feature characterizing this device, the aforesaid lateral arms are secured on the body of said abutment member by meanspermitting of changing at will the angular setting of one arm in relation to the other for adjusting the relative spacing and position of their free ends.

A typical form of embodiment of the binder of this invention is described hereinafter by way of example with reference to the attached drawing, wherein:

FIGURES l and 2 are elevational views, respectively from one side and from the rear, of the safety ski binder of this invention;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section taken through the same device;

FIGURE 4 is a horizontal section taken along the line IV-IV of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view showing a modified form of embodiment of the lateral arms constituting a characteristic feature of this device;

FIGURE 6 is a plan view from above with parts broken away, showing one of the lateral arms of the device;

FIGURE '7 is a section taken upon the line Vii-VII of FIGURE 4;

FIGURES 8 to 10 are diagrammatic views, partly in plan view from above and partly in horizontal section, showing the different positions of the component elements of the device with a ski boot associated therewith during the operation of the device; and

FIGURE 11 is a vertical section showing a modified form of embodiment of the ski binder of this invention.

The safety ski binder of this invention as shown in FIGURES 1 to 3 of the attached drawings is of the type described in the Patent 3,027,173 entitled Safety Ski Binder and filed by the same applicant.

This device consists essentially of a rotary abutment member comprising a hollow body I mounted on the ski S just ahead of the front edge B of the boot C to, be secured. This hollow body is rotatably mounted on a pivot pin 2 solid with a base plate 3 secured on the ski. This pivot pin, which extends at right angles to the top face of the ski, engages a bore 4 formed in the body 1.

This body 1 comprises another bore 5 extending at right angles to and communicating with the first bore 4. Mounted in this other bore 5 is a rod 6 of the piston 7 engaging a flat seat 8 formed in the forward face of the pivot pin 2, this flat seat acting somewhat as a cam face. Thus the piston 7 is urged against this seat by the action of a coil spring 9 reacting against a screw plug 10 closing the bore 5.

' According to a first feature characterizing the device of this invention, the rear face of the abutment member body 1 comprises a surface portion 14 adapted to constitute a bearing face for the toe end B of the bootsole. This bearing face 14 is very smooth to permit an easy sliding movement of the toe end of the boot thereon during a relative movement of these two parts.

Preferably, this surface portion 14 is concave and the center of its radius of curvature is coincident either with the theoretical position of the center of the heel of the ski boot, or with the center of rotation O of a swivel plate 15 provided under this heel, this swivel plate carrying if desired means for retaining the heel end of the ski boot. These last-named means may advantageously consist of a bow 16 pivotally mounted on the sides of base plate 15 and incorporating spring means and a tensioning lever 18. However, the heel binding means contemplated in practice may differ from those illustrated, since they are not compulsorily an integral part of this invention. Thus, these boot heel retaining means may consist of a device adapted to release the boot heel if an abnormally high tensile stress were applied to the heel such as the device shown and described in the U.S. patent application No. 271,143 filed by the same applicant on April 8, 1963,

and entitled Safety Bindings for Releasably Locking the Heels of Ski Boots.

According to a further feature characterizing the device of this invention the body of said abutment member comprises a pair of lateral arms 19 extending horizontally and obliquely to the rearbeyond the bearing face 14. These two arms form together a V on either side of the zone occupied by the toe end of the boot. According to an interesting feature of this device, the two lateral arms 19 are disposed at a level so calculated that they overlie the edge B of the boot sole. Thus they cannot contact the lateral sides of the boot solo in contrast to the conventional flanges, lugs or shoulders provided on hitherto known toe-end retaining binders. On the other hand the free rear ends 1% of these lateral arms engage the sides T of the boot upper and these sides alone.

In this respect it may be noted that the length of these lateral arms 19 is so determined that their rear ends 19a engage the sides of said boot upper at two points X and Y lying in the regions where the lateral portions of the boot upper merge into the rounded toe end of the boot upper. Preferably, the free end of each lateral arm 19 carries a roller 21 pivotally mounted on a vertical pin 22 and adapted to roll on the boot upper T. However, this roller may also be dispensed with. In this case these lateral arms have preferably a rounded cross-sectional configuration, at least on the boot side to ensure a proper sliding contact with the upper. FIGURE 5 illustrates in perspective view the cross-sectional shape 'of this lateral arm 190 of which the rear end, due to its form, can slide perfectly on the boot upper. I

The front end 1% of each arm 19 is disposed in a notch 24- formed in the rear portion of the body 1 and having a height greater than the thickness of these arms. Each arm is pivotally mounted on a pin 23)v carried. in turn by the body 1 and on which it can'also slide vertically.

The registering edges or corners of the front ends 1912 of arms 19 engage a groove 12 formed in a screw 13 screwed in said body and extending between the two arms 19, the axis of screw 13 being parallel to that of pin 2. The head 13a of screw 13 is accessible from the top of the abutment member to permit its rotation in one or the other direction forvertioally adjusting the two arms 19 since the front ends of these arms engage the groove '12. Thus the position of these arms can be adjusted very accurately in the vertical direction.

The two lateral arms 19 are constantly urged outwards by springs 21 also acting as meansfor resiliently engaging the screw 13 and preventing same from rotating unduly under the influence of shocks or jolts. On the other hand, the front end of each arm carries beyond the relevant pin 23 a screw 25 engaging the body 1 of the abutment memher with its tip. Thus, by screwing each screw in or out the user can alter at will the angular setting of each arm 19. In this respect it may be noted that the angular setting of each arm can be modified independently of that of the other arm. Thus, not only the magnitude of the relative spacing between the free ends 1% of the two lateral arms; but also the precise location of these two arms for a given relative spacing, can be adjusted at will. Under these conditions, the normal position of the toe end of the ski boot can be shifted laterally in relation to the pivot pin 2 of the abutment member in order to adjust this position very accurately.

FIGURES 6 and 7 illustrate a modified embodiment of the lateral arms whereinthe adjustment screw 25 is replaced with a different screw 26 having a polygonal portion 27 mounted freely in a bore 28 formed in the corresponding lateral arm 19a. Registering with this polygonal portion is a compression coil spring 29 housed within the lateral arm 19. Thus, this spring exerts a constant elastic pressure against one of the sides of the polygonal portion 27 of the screw for retaining the latter in the desired adjustment position.

The toe end of the ski boot C can be engaged against the binder without difliculty. In fact, the user simply fits the toe end of the boot between the two lateral arms '19 having a relatively large relative spacing. Of course, this engagement is further facilitated by the V-shaped disposal of these arms.

When the boot is in position it is retained by the threepoint bearing device, namely at the two points of contact X and Y with the free ends of these lateral arms 19, and at the point Z of engagement of the front end of the boot sole with the bearing face 14. Thus, the toe end of the ski boot is safely retained in all directions, and the efficiency of this retaining action is increased considerably with respect to hitherto known ski binders. Any upward movement of the boot is also safely checked or prevented by the fact that the two lateral arms 19 overlie the sides of the toe end B of the boot sole. As in the safety ski binder described and illustrated in the Patent No. 3,027,173 filed by the same applicant, so in this invention the body 1 of the abutment member is constantly urged to its normal operative position by the resilient return means consisting of the piston '7 pressed against the fiat face 8 by the spring 9. When an abnormally high torsion stress is exerted on the skiers foot, the boot causes the abutment member to rotate by pushing the lateral arm disposed in the direction of this effort. Thus the abutment member rotates against the resistance of its return spring. However, its angular movement remains inferior to the angle or by which the boot pivots about the center 0. This is due to the fact that the arm 19 located on the side of the direction of the movement of rotation moves while remainingin engagement with the boot upper to the toe end thereof. During this movement the toe end B of the boot sole remains in engagement with the bearing face 14 of the abutment member, but it'also slides on this face. due to the difference between the rotational amplitudes. This sliding movement is evidenced by the existence of a ditference D between the center of the toe end of the boot and the center of the rear portion of the abutment member (see FIGURE 9).

It may also be noted that no mutual wedging between the toe end of the boot and the abutment member can take place duringtheir respective movements of rotation. This is due mainly to the sliding movement of the toe end of the boot sole 3 against the bearing face 14 and to the magnitude of this movement which is greater than the movement accomplished by the edge of this face 14 which is opposite to the direction of movement of the boot toe and during the movement of rotation of the abutment member. In fact, this rotation causes the aforesaid edge to recede. Under these conditions, a risk of wedging the abutment member against the boot would obviously arise if the boot remained stationary. But any risk of this character is definitely avoided by its sliding movement in the opposite direction against the bearing face 14.

On the other hand, the arms 19 are also unlikely to become wedged because they cannot under any circumstance engage the side portions of the boot sole as in hitherto known devices, these arms engaging only the boot upper. Thus, during the rotation of the safety abutment member the rear end of the side arm 19 which lies in the direction of the boot movement slides along the boot upper and moves rapidly to the rounded front end of this upper which has a lesser width than the portion laying between the two points X and Y whereas the upper is engaged by the lateral arms 19 in their normal position.

if the torsional movement is moderate and of short duration the amplitude of the angular movement accomplished by the boot about the center 0 is limited for instance to an angle or. The lateral arm 19 disposed in the path of the boot movement remains in engagement with the boot upper and then restores the boot to its normal position when the application of torsion stress ceases, this arm being also returned to its initial position by the elastic return means associated with the rotary abutment member 1.

In this respect, it may be noted that this return movement cannot be impaired by a forward movement of the boot. In fact, during its angular movement the boot cannot move forward since the toe end B of the sole remains constantly in engagement with the bearing face 14, by simply sliding therealong.

On the other hand, if a torsional movement of a certain magnitude takes place the rotational movements of the boot and of the abutment member continue and finally the boot escapes completely from the two lateral arms 19 (see FiGURE 10). Thus, the toe end of the boot is completely free and any accident is definitely and safely avoided.

However, as already stated, the safety binder of this invention provides a number of advantageous features over existing devices of this character. Thus, the boot holding efficiency in the lateral direction is improved and somewhat similar to that obtained with former yoke-type binders comprising fixed lateral arms or flanges. This lateral holding feature is on the other hand such that the device of this invention can be used with heel retaining devices exerting no forward thrust on the boot.

On the other hand, since the angular setting of both lateral arms can be modified at will, the user can adjust very accurately the position of the toe end of the boot in the lateral direction for compensationg for, for example, a slight error or difference in the mounting of the safety binder on the ski.

Of course the safety ski binder of this invention should not be construed as being limited to the form of embodiment shown and described herein by way of example, since many modifications may be brought thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the bearing face 14 formed on the rear portion of the abutment member may carry any desired means for reducing the frictional contact between this face and the front end of the boot. In this respect, a series of rollers may be mounted on this bearing face to provide a rolling contact with the boot sole.

Besides, the means for resiliently returning the rotary abutment member to its initial position may differ from the form illustrated. Thus, notably, this abutment member may comprise any other resilient means for locking or retaining same in its normal position.

Thus, FIGURE 11 illustrates a modified form of ernbodiment wherein the body 1a of the abutment member is provided with a detent positioning device of the type described in the Patent No. 3,000,644 filed by the same applicant. This device comprises positioning balls 30 interposed between this body and the fixed plate 3a. It also comprises a coil spring 31 surrounding the pivot pin 2a to resiliently urge the body 1a toward the plate 3a while keeping the balls 30 in corresponding recesses formed in said plate 3a, this spring 31 reacting against a screw plug 32.

However, as in the preceding forms of embodiment, the rear portion of the rotary abutment member body 1a comprises a bearing face 14 engageable by thetOe end B of the boot sole. The rear end of this body In also carries a pair of lateral arms 19 adapted to engage the corresponding sides of the boot upper to hold the boot against lateral movement. In this case the arms 19 are pivotally mounted on pins parallel to the pivot pin 2a and their vertical adjustment is effected by means of a screw 13.

The operation of this device is obviously the same as that of the device constituting the preceding form of embodiment of the invention, and therefore it is not deemed necessary to describe it in detail. However, the structure of the resilient locking or retaining means, such as a detent-positioning device, may be further modified, since it specific design is not a specific feature of this invention.

What I claim as new is:

1. A safety ski binder for holding the toe end of a ski boot against motion, which comprises in combination a pivot pin carried by a base plate and adapted to be secured on a ski with its axis extending at right angle from the top face of the ski, an abutment member having a body rotatably mounted on said pivot pin, resilient means interconnecting said body and said base plate for retaining said abutment member body in its normal operative position while permitting the release thereof when a torsion stress exceeding a predetermined value is applied thereto, said abutment member body carrying on its rear portion bearing means adapted to be engaged by the toe end of the ski boot sole, a pair of lateral arms carried by said body and adapted to engage the toe end of the boot, the front end of each lateral arm being pivotally mounted about a pin carried by said abutment member at right angles to the ski face, abutment means being provided for holding each one of said two arms against movement in any desired angular positions to permit the adjustment of the relative spacing of the free end of said arms.

2. A safety ski binder for holding the toe end of a ski boot against motion, which comprises in combination a pivot pin carried by a base plate and adapted to be secured on a ski with its axis extending at right angle from the top face of the ski, an abutment member having a body rotatably mounted on said pivot pin, resilient means interconnecting said body and said base plate for retaining said abutment member body in its normal operative position while permitting the release thereof when a torsion stress exceeding a predetermined value is applied thereto, said abutment member body carrying on its rear portion bearing means adapted to be engaged by the toe end of the ski boot sole, a pair of lateral arms carried by said body and adapted to engage the toe end of the boot, the front end of each lateral arm being pivotally mounted about a pin carried by said abutment member at right angles to the ski face, said front end carrying an adjustment screw bearing against said abutment member.

3. A safety ski binder as set forth in claim 2, wherein each one of said adjustment screws comprises a polygonalsectioned portion engageable by a compression spring for resiliently retaining said screw in the desired adjustment position, said coil spring being preferably housed in a bore formed in the relevant lateral arm.

4. A safety ski binder as set forth in claim 2, wherein the front ends of said lateral arms are mounted for vertical sliding movement on pivot pins extending at right angles to the ski face in anotch formed in the rear portion of said abutment member, and a screw engaging said abutment member at right angles t-othe ski face and extending through said notch between the front ends of said lateral arms, said front ends engaging a groove formed in said screw whereby the vertical position of said lateral arms can be adjusted by the operation of said screw in one or the other direction.

5. A safety ski binder for holding the toe end of a ski boot against motion, which comprises in combination a pivot pin carried by a base plate and adapted tobe secured on a skiwith its axis extending at right angle from the top face of the ski, an abutment member having a body rotatably mounted on said pivot pin, resilient means interconnecting said body and said base plate for retaining said abutment member body in its normal operative position whilepermitting the release thereof when a torsion stress exceeding a predetermined value is applied thereto, said abutment member body carrying on its rear portion means adapted to be engaged by the toe end of the ski boot sole, a pair of lateral arms-carried by said body and extending obliquely to the rear on either side of the.

position occupied by. the toe end of the ski boot, said arms being disposed at such a level in relation to said base plate that they overlie the edge of the boot sole and engage 'the boot upper, said arms having in addition a predetermined length-whereby their rear ends engage said boot upper at two points disposed on either side of the rounded toe end ofthe boot upper, the front end of each lateral arm being pivotally mounted about, a pin carried by said abutment member at right angles to the ski face, abutment means being provided for holding each one of said two arms against movement in any desired angular positions to permit the adjustment of the relative spacing of the free ends of said arms.

6. A safety ski binder for holding the toe end of a ski boot against motion, which comprises in combination a pivot pin carried by a base plate and adapted to be secured on a ski with its axis'extending at right anglefrom the top face of the ski, an abutment member having a body rotatablymounted on said pivot pin, resilient means interconnecting said body and said base plate for retaining said abutment member body in its normal operative position while permitting the release thereof when a torsion stress exceeding a predetermined value is applied thereto, said abutment member body carrying on its rear portion means adapted to be engaged by the toe end of the :ski boot sole, a pair of lateral arms carried by said body and extending obliquely to the rear on either side of the position occupied by the toe end of the ski boot, said arms being disposed at such a level in relation to said base plate that they overlie the edge of the boot sole and engage the boot upper, said arms having in addition a predetermined length whereby their rear ends engage said boot upper at two points disposed on either side of the rounded toe end of the boot upper, the front end of each lateral arm being pivotally mounted about a pin carried by said abutment member at right angles to the ski faces, said front end carrying an adjustment screw bearing against said abutment member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,199,153 4/40 Else 280-11.35 3,000,644 9/61 Beyl 28011.35 3,009,710 11/61 Marker 280-1135 3,027,173 3/62 Beyl 28011.35 3,079,164 2/63 De Place 28011.35 3,105,696 10/63 Rehacek 28011.35 3,149,854 9/64 Marker 280-11.35

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,222,897 1/60 France- BENJAMIN HERSH, Primary Examiner.

A. HARRY LEVY, Examiner. 

1. A SAFETY SKI BINDER FOR HOLDING THE TOE END OF A SKI BOOT AGAINST MOTION, WHICH COMPRISES IN COMBINATION A PIVOT PIN CARRIED BY A BASE PLATE AND ADAPTED TO BE SECURED ON A SKI WITH ITS AXIS EXTENDING AT RIGHT ANGLE FROM THE TOP FACE OF THE SKI, AN ABUTMENT MEMBER HAVING A BODY ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID PIVOT PIN, RESILIENT MEANS INTERCONNECTING SAID BODY AND SAID BASE PLATE FOR RETAINING SAID ABUTMENT MEMBER BODY IN ITS NORMAL OPERATIVE POSITION WHILE PERMITTING THE RELEASE THEREOF WHEN A TORSION STRESS EXCEEDING A PREDETERMINED VALUE IS APPLIED THERETO, SAID ABUTMENT MEBMER BODY CARRYING ON ITS REAR PORTION BEARING MEANS ADAPTED TO BE ENGAGED BY THE TOE END OF THE SKI BOOT SOLE, A PAIR OF LATERAL ARMS CARRIED BY SAID BODY AND ADAPTED TO ENGAGE THE TOE END OF THE BOOT, THE FRONT END OF EACH LATERAL ARM BEING PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ABOUT A PIN CARRIED BY SAID ABUTMENT MEMBER AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE SKI FACE, ABUTMENT MEANS BEING PROVIDED FOR HOLDING EACH ONE OF SAID TWO ARMS AGAINST MOVEMENT IN ANY DESIRED ANGULAR POSITIONS TO PERMIT THE ADJUSTMENT OF THE RELATIVE SPACING OF THE FREE END OF SAID ARMS. 